Teacher pay, teacher strike

First, this from this morning's AP wire.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Estimating that their salaries will jump by at least 11 percent during his term, Gov. Joe Manchin has offered upset teachers a wider view of the pay issue to dissuade them from walking off their jobs or otherwise protesting.

Figures released by the governor’s office include a 3.5 percent raise approved by the Legislature during its regular session and multiyear boosts to the teachers’ salary schedule that began in 2005. By 2009, some teachers’ salaries will have increased by 36.6 percent.

The West Virginia Education Association expects members to stage a one-day walkout Wednesday, while the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia is voting on whether to strike later this year.

“I’m asking them, ’Please, don’t punish the children,”’ Manchin said Monday. “I’m saying, ’Talk to me. Look at the figures.”’

Who other than teachers themselves think any kind of a mid-week walkout is a good idea? What sort of message does this send to parents and taxpayers, especially if Manchin's numbers are accurate? What alternate universe do teachers union leaders live in?

If I'm a teacher and I've got the flu, I'd show up for work tomorrow even if the principal has to send me home.

West Virginia ranks anywhere from 47th to 50th among the states in median household income, depending on how the number are figures and taking into account sampling errors. I'm sorry if teachers likewise rank 47th to 50th.

I have met many teachers who earn much more than they are paid. I have met many who should be picking up litter along the roads as community service in exchange for what little they have done in the classroom.

In a nation of 300 million people, someone is smart enough to devise a merit system that rewards good teachers and gets the bad ones out of the classroom.